Farmers typically make use of pneumatic-distribution systems to plant seed and/or to fertilize the soil. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,825 to Weiste. Such a seed- and/or fertilizer-distributipn system, generally pulled through the field by a tractor, is typically supplied particulate material from a transportable storage hopper. The tractor typically pulls such a storage hopper through the field. The distribution system typically co-acts with soil-engaging ground tools to disperse the particulate material into the soil in a ppredetermined manner. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,495 to Pust; U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,601 to Hansen; U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,670 to Brass; U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,668 to Brass et al.; and U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 27,578 to Keeton.
Typically, transportable storage hoppers are filled by having the material either dumped, or conveyed pneumatically or otherwise, into the hopper through the opening thereof. Such methods of filling the storage hopper can be cumbersome and time-consuming, however, and often give rise to waste, as spillage of the particulate material onto the ground is a typical result. Also, the transportable storage hopper opening is typically spaced higher above the ground than the dump chute of a truck, used to fill the storage hopper. This, too, adds to the above-mentioned waste problem. Further, conventional means for filling transportable storage hopper with seed and/or fertilizer are rarely compact, but rather, are typically cumbersome.